Ice grate for refrigerator cars



April 8 1924. 1,489,562

A. VALENTl ICE GRATE FOR REFRIGERATOR CARS Filed Aug. 13. 1923 ways.

Patented Apr. 8, 1924.

U T STATES pArs'u'rjor lcs.

' ANGELO VALENTI, or WASHINGTON,- DISTRICT or COLUMBIA.

ICE GRATE FOR REFRIGERATOR cans.

Application filed August 13, 1923. Serial No. 657,044.

struction wherein-the individual cross-slats of the flooring will be entirely free'from each other and removable and replaceable without disturbing the floor as a whole and without disturbing any of the other slats, to provide supporting beams or rails having means for spacing the *individual slats from each other, and to so combine the rails or supporting beams and cross-slats as to guard the former against injury. from ice being dropped upon the latter, all of which objects, among others, are accomplished by the construction, combination and arrangement of parts all as hereinafter more set forth, described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of one end of a refrigerator car having my improvements applied thereto, the end of the car and ice-tank being removed and some of the cross-slats of the ice rack or flooring being omitted;

Figure 2, a cross-sectional view through the supporting rails or beams with the slats in position;

Figure 3, a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; one of the slats being omitted;

and

Figure 4, a fragmentary vertical sectional view, broken away, transversely through the ice compartment or tank.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, A represents a refrigerator car, which may be of the usual construction, provided with an icetank extending transversely across the car and having the usual ice-holes in the car roof to be closed by the usual covers B. Each ice-tank has the usual warm-air inlet C and the usual cold-air outlet D, extending through the usual partition or inner wall E of the ice-tank, the inner face of said wall E constituting the inner side of the ice-tank formed as particularly and being opposed to the other side-wall F thereof at an interval but slightly greater than the length of the slats 1 to prevent the slatsl from moving lengthwise off of either of the supporting rails or beams 2, all. as is usual. f

The fic'e-tank has its 7 bottom portion a drip tank or tray G and resting on the floor thereof and extending upward cured to the walls of the ice-tankif desired, are tlieusual metal brackets H for supporting the .rails or beams'2, and the drip-tray G is provided with suitable outlets I, all as usual.

The supporting rails or beams 2 are each of I-beam form and. have extending from screened drain- '65 e 'an appreciabledistance therefrom and setheir upper edges or faces a: plurality of equi-dis'tantly. spaced, preferablyintegral,

preferably Tuniform height, lugs or spacingblocks '3, leaving spaces or notches 4 between them, the lugs or blocks 3 being throughout of the same length and preferably of uniform thickness, and being so positioned on the respective rails 2 that when said rails are arranged in their respective positions, one on each side of the lower portion of the ice-tank, the lugs 3 and spaces 4 of the one will register transversely of the ice-tank with the lugs 3 and spaces 4 of the other rail or beam 2 on the other side of the ice-tank. With the rails or beams 2 mounted in the above described relation in the ice-tank the transversely extending cross-slats 1 are fitted in place with their end portions fitting into the respective pairs of re istering spaces or notches 4. These cross-s ots 1 will preferably be of such thickness as to make a snug fit in the uniform size spaces or notches 4, as illustrated, and will be of such minimum width or height as to extend appreciably above the lugs or blocks 3, as shown, so that when the ice-tank is being supplied with ice the heavy ice blocks in droppingv on the ice rack against the slats 1 will strike against said slats 1 and will not strike against any of the lugs or blocks 3, thus providing a relation of parts fully protecting the lugs 3 from damage by the incoming ice. 7

Should one or more of the slats 1 be broken it may be easily lifted out of its pair of openings or notches 4 and replaced with a new one as a distinct and separate element. I

If desired to guard against any of the slats 1 rebounding out of position due to a heavy blow from a block ofice, little strips 5 may be tacked to the inner side walls of the tank slightly above the ends of the slats 1 before the ice filling operation is started, so

that as the slats 1 start to reboun'd'they will" strike one or the other of said strips 5 withv one or both of their ends and'will fallback into normal position. 7 The slats 1 will preferably be of wood, as

now usual, and the rails or supporting beams 2, brackets H, and their-fastenings will preferably be galvanized, as is now usual, or

otherwise suitably treated or coatedto be.

rust resistant.

The slats 1 will be arranged closely adjacent each other, preferablyat a distance not exceeding twice" the thickness of the individual slats, and preferably alitl e closer-together than this, so that as the ice blocks are dropped in'from the top openings the slats. 1 will prevent them from striking the lugs 3 by guarding against, such an interval ,be-

v tween the slats as would perr'nitthe' corner or edge of a block to so strike.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new' and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: 1. In flooring for ice tanks for refrigerator cars, the combination of metallic supporting beams having their upper portions formedwith lugs forming between them intervening notches, the notches of the beams registering in a transverse direction, with a plurality of independently insertable and removable slats fitting respectively in said registering notches and arranged so closely together and extending vertically above the lugs to sueh a distance as to guard the latter against a blow from a heavy block of ice during the filling of the tank.

2. In flooring for ice-tanks for refrigeratorcars, the combinationof'metallic sup- 7 porting bealns havingtheir upper portions formed with equi-distantly spaced lugs defining, between them intervening uniform.

ANGELO VALENTI. 

